Wednesday, January 23, 2013

(Daily Mail) Two gangs of Al Qaeda terrorists who plotted to inflict mass murder on the British public shared more than £30million in legal aid, it emerged last night.

Figures released by the Ministry of Justice show the astonishing sums being paid out by taxpayers to fund defence in criminal cases.

Recipients of huge amounts include the July 21 bombers, a group of Islamist fanatics behind the 2006 airline liquid bomb plot and a string of fraud cases.

The former fugitive Asil Nadir - who rented a £23,000-a-month London residence during his trial - received more than £1million in legal aid. [...]

In 2007/08, the July 21 terrorism trial swallowed £7.1million. Muktar Ibrahim, Ramzi Mohammed, Yassin Omar and Hussain Osman were convicted of attempting to blow themselves up on the London transport network just two weeks after the 7/7 atrocity in 2005.

The four men tried to mirror the previous attack but their rucksacks, packed with explosives, failed to detonate. At their trial in 2007, they claimed it was a deliberate hoax to protest over the war in Iraq.

The following year the eight defendants in an alleged conspiracy to launch suicide bomb attacks on a succession of transatlantic airliners, using liquid bombs, cost £12.2million in legal aid. The plot led to draconian restrictions on what could be taken on flights.

The first jury failed to reach a verdict in the case - leading to re-trials which swallowed a further £14.8million. Ultimately, seven out of the eight original suspects were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.